Commentary

A few notes on the slide show below:

1. My children (!) willingly ate spinach. Of course they thought it was lettuce, a conclusion at which they arrived on their own.

2. Bryce & Bryan celebrated birthdays one week apart. Bryce had a small party at the house, and Bryan enjoyed time with his friends at the water park and later at Miss Jeanne's.

3. Brady continues to fall asleep in the weirdest places.

4. Sydney still lives here.

5. Coffee Mate, coffee's perfect mate, has been unfaithful, finding milk in NASCAR sippy cups a great alternative to coffee in oversized mugs.

July in Pictures

"Um, Bryce, what're you doing?"

"I'm making my bike have two wheels."

Where he found the wrench, I have no idea. How he figured out how to use it--again, clueless. Apparently, along with several other issues we seem to have inherited, mechanical ability is genetic. In my case, it skipped a generation. Too bad Bryce isn't tall enough to reach the van's engine. I could be saving myself some money right now.

With the training wheels successfully off his way-too-small bike, Bryce is ready to learn to ride without the "baby wheels." His project inspired two other would-be-mechanics. Brady actually got one nut off his scooter. Bryan gave up on his bike. [However, he is doing all "3 P's" in the toilet now (well, 2 of the 3 since thankfully he's not dealing with a stomach virus right now), so Bryan's experiencing success in another extremely important big boy area.]

Sydney has not attempted to use any tools today. But I'm including a picture of her and Courtney singing and dancing to a Hannah Montana song at their Girl Scout dinner earlier this month. They had fun, and we were proud of Syd for overcoming her stage fright.

(BTW, the wet patio and mud are the result of the wash down Bryce's bike received earlier today. I did stop Bryan & Brady from having a mud fight. Barely.)

Daddy's Home!

I don't know if this is true for all airports, but at ELP, family of service members are allowed access to the boarding gates. Barry didn't know this, so we surprised him by meeting him at the gate instead of at baggage claim. The kids were incredibly excited to go through the metal detector (weird, I know) and couldn't wait to see the planes through the windows. We got through security just in time to see Barry's plane on the runway. He was overwhelmed (in a good way) by having all 4 kids run to him as he walked through the gate.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for a safe flight!


The boys wanted to know why they couldn't ride this plane.


"That's Daddy's plane!"


The kids almost tackled Barry. Bryan's there--look for the red fire truck shoes. (Sorry it's blurry!)

Another Bryan Quote

We're waiting "patiently" for the time to meet Barry's plane. Bryan & I were just talking about who's coming home for a visit, then I kissed his cheek. He said, "Mommy kisses don't have germs in them."

Thanks, Bryan. I'm going to save this quote for the future as I'm sure your opinion is bound to change over time.

When Mom Can't Reach...

...just kiss the booboo yourself. This is a re-enactment since the original self-booboo-kiss happened in the van. Brady had fallen on the sidewalk while running to the van (because 2-1/2-yr-old boys DO NOT walk ANYWHERE) and decided it needed a kiss to feel better. I couldn't reach, so he took care of it himself. But he did ask me to blow a kiss to it from the front seat, which I did.

He said something to me about it, but I couldn't quite understand. I'm sure it was funny, though. If I ever figure out the translation, I'll pass it along.

The Merry Month of May

The last few weeks have been busy. May started with a headache--migraine, to be exact. While I caught the actual migraine early and drugged myself fairly well, my head hurt for 5 days after. That was absolutely wonderful.

Mother's Day was fun. My friend Mary H came over with her 2 kids. Her husband's in Korea, too, so we get together a few times a week. She helped me rearrange furniture, put down new carpet (remember, our floors are school-grade tile), hang new blinds (the old ones were a mess thanks to my ADHD yellow lab), and assemble new patio furniture. In return, I made BBQ brisket. YUM! Sydney & Lauren made a spa for us and spent their day chasing the 4 boys out of the spa room. I don't have any pictures of that because it's hard to be a spa client and photographer at the same time. But it was very thoughtful and fun. And the girls had a blast using their new High School Musical nail polish and lip gloss on us.

Bryan has been especially hysterical lately. We have officially entered the I'm-almost-4-and-I-will-talk-to-you-on-your-level stage. Allow me to share some Bryanisms:

Me (to Bryan while he was acting particularly ornery): Who do you think you are?

Bryan: Spiderman.

***

Bryan walks into Mary's kitchen, hand on hip, head cocked, finger tapping lip.

Mary: What's wrong, Bryan?

Bryan (sighs, heaves shoulders, spins on heel): Nothing.

***

Bryan was trying to get my attention, and I was busy. So Mary stepped in to help.

Mary: Bryan, what do you need?

Bryan: I'm not talking to you! I'm talking to my mom!

(Yeah, that one got a tongue spanking.)

***

Bryan (immediately after waking up and walking into the kitchen): I can't take this any more! I'm going back to bed!

And he did.

***



Bryce & Bryan love the new bistro & bench. I decided on the small set because they're made of iron and don't move during 60 mph wind gusts.




Bryan & Brady love cymbals. No noses were harmed during their concert.




Sydney's on the table next to her friend Courtney. Bryan & Bryce are closer to the front. These are the pre-k to 5th graders I work with at PWOC. Bryan, although not technically old enough to be in the pre-k class, graduated early because he was bored to death with the 3 yr olds. He loves the older room and does very well. Except when he & Bryce get mad--then Michael (Mary's boy) joins in because he might as well be their brother...I'm sure you get the idea.

I'd Like To Thank the Academy...

Yeah, so when I received the engraved invitation to the volunteers' reception last month, I figured it was no big deal. I'm a registered volunteer on post, have been for a few years now. I thought this was a randomly generated invite. The RSVP deadline was approaching, but to find someone to watch the kids, wow. So I wasn't going to RSVP. Then Barbara called me. "Amy, did you get the invitation in the mail?" I couldn't deny it, and since she was at the planning meeting, I had to tell her on the spot that I'd be coming.

My friend Jenny agreed to keep the kids so Mary H could go with me. A few days later, Barbara called me again. "Security's going to be tight because our guest speaker is the Secretary of Defense's wife. All of the awardees have to be early, so make sure you're there by 12:30." That was my first real clue that I was receiving some kind of an award. Honestly. I kinda suspected it because Barbara had pressed me for an RSVP, but I wasn't sure.

So today was the reception. I didn't know what to expect, but I was excited. Honored, really. LTC (CH) Ahl (who wrote my recommendation for seminary) and his wife, Jane (PWOC president and my friend), were there, too. Jane said she only came to support me. Thanks, Jane! Secretary Gates was there with his wife--who kept her remarks minimal. (Thank you, Mrs. Gates!) One hundred sxity-two volunteers were recognized by the post commanding general, Major General Howard Bromberg. COL Rossi, Mrs. Bromberg, and Mrs. Rodgers (the command sergeant major's wife) shook our hands and gave us our certificates and coins.

I had to apologize to Barbara for not realizing how 'big a deal' this really was. I think tonight we'll celebrate with something that can be delivered.


Barbara Cotton, the Protestant Director of Religious Education, nominated me for the Helping Hands award. Barbara helps me with PWOC, but she's in charge of Sunday school and VBS for all of post. So she's kind of my boss, too.




The certificate reads, " Celebrate Volunteers Certificate of Appreciation is presented to Amy Crossman, Helping Hand Service Award, Religious Actitivies--In recognition of your unwavering devotion and outstanding service to the community from April 2007 to March 2008. Your selfless service has improved the quality of life for the Soldiers and Family members of Team Bliss. The commitment and dedication that you exemplify is a proud tradition of the United States Army." General Bromberg signed it! The coin reads, "U.S. Army Volunteer Corps A Tradition of Service" on one side and "Fort Bliss Army Volunteer Corps Serving the Nation" on the other.

"Beathing Teatments" Help Bryan's Cough Box

In honor of Grandma Buck, I share this short but cute Bryan story. Grandma always wanted to know when my kids said cute things. Had she been computer savvy, she'd have loved what I've shared on this blog.

Anyway...

Bryan has bronchitis--again. Our weather has been extremely dry and incredibly windy. And the 80+ degree temps during the day that give to the 40-degree temps at night aren't helping. Of course Bryan desperately needed a breathing treatment during our only power outage so far this year. Once the power came back on, though, I gave him one which immediately calmed him down and let him breathe well enough to sleep. Perhaps the Benadryl helped with that, too.

When he woke up from his nap, he said, "Beathing teatments are awesome! I feel better now. My cough box is fixed." The cough box, for those of you not familiar with anatomy from the perspective of a 3-1/2 year old, is located in your mouth. Bryan's cough box kept him up all night last night and made his tummy hurt this morning.

So for the next few days, we'll be doing the breathing treatments every 4-6 hours as needed. We have to keep that cough box fixed!

"Korea Clothes" and Fishing

Sydney couldn't wait to wear the authentic Korean dress Barry sent her. She looks so grown up in it! Gorgeous, too! Besides pursuing a modeling career, Syd's been busy with school work and her social life. And she's working to earn High School Musical bedding to replace the quilts she's had since we moved here--7 years ago. Syd knows what she wants, and to be honest, I ruined one of the quilts. Oops.



On to the boys...

The desire to fish is genetic. For a month now, all I've heard from my two elder sons is, "I want a fishin' rod!" and "Can I get the Rocket Rod? It comes with a DVD!" and "When will Papa Rod take me fishing?" and "Daddy's going to buy me a fishin' rod, right?"

Neither Wal-Mart nor the PX carries any kind of fishing game, but we found one at Target today. For an hour now I've heard, "Come to papa!" and "I got a bite!" and "Eh-eh-eh! He'p me!" The latter from Brady, who is struggling to keep up with his brothers' catches but sharing wholeheartedly in their fishing enthusiasm.

Rocket to the Rescue!

Or wow, I didn't know kids could be caged pets.

Gymli's kennel usually becomes Rocket from Little Einsteins. I find the situation ironic since they love the kennel yet HATED cribs & pack-n-plays.

Yes, they go in of their accord. Yes, they can lock the doors from the inside. No, they cannot unlock the doors once in.

Can you imagine the discourse between the two when one locks the other in?

Happy Easter!

Another Tooth Loss

This time, Bryce handed me his tooth as soon as it fell out. Again, he was eating pizza. But not cold, leftover Papa John's. The kids chose Bagel Bites for supper last night, and I guess he bit down a bit hard.

"Do I still look weird, Mom?"


"I got a dollar!" Bryce exclaimed.

"I usually get two dollars," Syd bragged.

"Well," I explained, "since Bryce received such a nice gift with his first tooth, the tooth fairy decided one dollar was fair." End of that discussion.

"Can I spend my dollar?"

"Bryce, if you spend your dollar you'll have to pay taxes," Sydney told him. (Yay for me! She remembers some of our school lessons!)

"What? I don't want to pay taxes!"

"You have to. That's the law." Of course we could shop at the PX, but why confuse the child?

Hives and Teeth

This is how Brady woke up Thursday morning. Actually, he was bright red from head to toe. I thought it was the chicken pox (I still marvel over the intelligence of vaccinating against viruses). But the doctor said, no, he has hives. Brady's skin reaction is what he'd expect during an adverse reaction to medicine. Brady's not been on any medicine, and as far as I know, has neither eaten nor done anything out of the ordinary. The doctor doesn't think the cold we've been fighting for a few weeks is a factor, either. So we're on prednisone and benadryl for a while. Our self-imposed quarantine has to end for a while today because I'm out of milk. Otherwise, though, we're staying home until we know what's wrong. (NO, I DO NOT think he's allergic to our dog! Brady's runny noses are from colds and the lovely desert dirt that soars through the air during our wonderful 35 mph wind storms.)

Please help me pray that Brady's itching subsides soon.

He looks horrible, but he acts fine.



In other news, Bryce lost his first tooth today. Here's the story in his own words:

"I ate cheese pizza. It was cold. And it came out. It didn't hurt, well, it hurt a little bit, like for 10 seconds. I saw some blood, that means it didn't hurt. Then I showed Sydney my tooth, and she lost it!"

No, Sydney didn't lose his tooth. But he was worried because the tooth fairy wouldn't bring him anything. Well, the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny had already discussed the situation as soon as Bryce announced he had a loose tooth. The Easter bunny told the tooth fairy to go ahead and give Bryce the Gordon that was supposed to go in his Easter basket. I informed Bryce of the conversation, because the tooth fairy didn't want to disappoint Bryce by leaving a train instead of money. She wanted to make sure that was OK with him. Duh. Bryce insisted I write the tooth fairy a note telling her what had happened so he wouldn't be forgotten. She accepted Bryce's explanation of events leading up to and immediately following the tooth's departure from his mouth. So not having an actual tooth as proof of loss didn't hurt anything this time. But the tooth fairy did leave him a note that said to make sure he saved the next one. Apparently the tooth fairy needs teeth to complete her castle walls.

Bryce is proud of his first tooth loss. "Mom, I look weird!" Yes, you kinda do. But just wait until you lose the other 3 front teeth.


Thank goodness the tooth fairy left a note! Bryce was quite worried that she wouldn't remember that she'd cut the deal with the Easter bunny.

A Note from Barry

Family & Friends,

I'm sorry this thank you is so late. But I am very grateful for the goody boxes and gifts you've sent. Especially during the holidays knowing I was being thought of and prayed for meant a lot. I lived off the food you sent for about a month, so thanks for keeping me fed!

This separation has been challenging for my family. But Amy & the kids are doing well, and getting to talk to each other almost daily makes the loneliness easier to bear. Thank you for your ongoing prayers. They are making a difference.

When my work schedule lets up a bit, I'll update my website. I've been working 7 days a week, going in early and getting off late. So I haven't had much time to reflect and write. Hopefully that will change soon.

Love,
Barry

Bryce's Obsession with Snow

While watching the news this morning (a rare occurance in this house), Bryce paid close attention to the weather report. The weather guys were doing a split weather-cast, one in MA and one in CT. "Is it snowing?" Bryce practically yelled as he jumped to look out the window.

"Not here, Bryce. Those guys are on the east coast. They're having a kind of snowstorm."

I could tell by the look in his eye that he was formulating a plan.

"Do you know how to get there?" He'd asked me the other day if I knew how to get to Indiana. I do, so I told him yes. "Can we go there now?" he wanted to know. I tried to explain that trips take planning. "We can get money from the bank!" he exclaimed. Ah, if only it were that simple.

But I don't know exactly how to get to MA or CT, so I had to be honest. "No, Bryce, I don't know how to get there."

He was bummed, to say the least. This boy loves snow. But he wasn't about to give up.

"We can go to the bank to get money, then you can follow the map!"

Later in the newscast, we saw a picture of people skiing. "Where are they?" Bryce wanted to know.

This particular SkiCam is near the hotel where we mini-vacationed last fall. "They're skiing where we spent vacation."

"Let's go back right now! It's not that far!"

"We can't go without Daddy, Bryce."

"OK. We'll go in June when Daddy comes home, then. We can play in the snow."

Maybe by then he'll be so fascinated with the thought of fishing again that he'll have forgotten about the snow. In the meantime, we'll be repeating our prayers for snow in the desert. And for a duty station in a more snow-prone area.

Christmas 2007

Sydney is (gulp) NINE!

Everyday I'm reminded that I'm getting old. By my children, usually, who point out how many years I am. But yesterday, they didn't have to say a word to make me feel ancient.

Sydney turned 9.

I could write volumes of cliche fluff about how much I love her and how the time has flown. But I won't. I'm morally opposed to cliche fluff.

Sydney is beautiful. She has a caring, outgoing, people-oriented spirit. She loves Jesus, music, horses, fashion, Hannah Montana, and High School Musical--1 and 2. Don't get me wrong--she's not perfect, but I wouldn't trade her. Despite what she sometimes thinks. :)

I think she had a nice birthday and felt special. For our family outing, we went with Jeanne to see some Christmas light displays. Syd's treat was getting to walk around the block with Jeanne by herself while I stayed in the van with the boys.

Happy birthday, Sydney! I don't mind getting older if it means watching you grow up. :)


My feeble attempt at a violet electric guitar. We took this cake to PWOC to share with the homeschool class last Wednesday.


Syd loved her new American Girl beauty products & tote bag!


For her 'real' birthday cake, Syd wanted a pink acoustic guitar. Behind the cake is the paint-by-number plaster model horse she received.


Syd carefully painted the appaloosa model.


I'm not sure the facial expression truly reveals how Syd felt about receiving these nesting dolls from the Czech.

Staying Busy

We've managed to keep busy around here. Last weekend was our chapel's production of The Great Late Potentate. Sydney was in the choir, and I helped the directors with odd jobs and discipline. Apparently I'm really good at putting kids in their place. I sang with the choir on Sunday morning, but Sunday night I was able to sit in the audience and get a few pictures. I'm very proud of all the kids--they worked hard and did a great job. And Sydney, who can be very shy despite what others might believe, overcame her fear of being in front of an audience. She even smiled as she sang!

Back home, we're trying to accomplish some Christmas projects. Just little things to keep the kids entertained. Yesterday we made foam stockings. Eventually we'll do some stamp art and put together foam wreaths. We did assemble our gingerbread Christmas tree, but Brady has eaten all the decorations. I'll have to find 'before' and 'after' pictures.

Barry's doing well in Korea. His schedule's been hectic, but the guys are working half-days this week. I guess their afternoons are full of 'mandatory fun.' Really. They schedule activities the soldiers may or may not want to participate in, then make them. It's not all bad--just kind of a pain when he might have an extra hour to talk to the kids before bedtime but has to be at the bowling alley or something. I don't think he's updated his website recently, but I know he's thankful for all the goodies sent his way. His schedule's been so crazy lately that if he hadn't received snack food from all of us, he wouldn't have had anything to eat! Thanks for all your prayers and care packages!

To quote Bryan: "Mewrry Chwistmas to all, and to all 'night!"


Getting the cast of The Great Late Potentate together for a group picture was, um, challenging.


Justin (our neighbor) and Sydney sang with much gusto!



Sydney was all business during craft time--at least when the camera came out.


Bryan loved playing with the stickers--and the glitter.


Even though Bryce was feeling sick, he thought making a foam stocking was fun.


Brady liked taking the stickers on and off of his stocking.

Happy Birthday, Brady!

Finally, a few highlights from Brady's second birthday (November 29)!

For his birthday, he received the Polar Express train sets, the Cars Spiral Speedway, TMX Elmo, several characters from Cars, and a Mickey Mouse airplane. Perfect for a little boy who loves things that go! I made him a Lightning McQueen birthday cake, which he loved.

On the kids' birthdays, we try to do something special. Bryce went go-carting with Daddy, and Bryan visited the fire station. Since Brady's great-grandparents all sent him money, I chose to take the kids to the zoo. They had so much fun, and they behaved very well. The zoo's being practically empty didn't hurt, either!

So happy late birthday, Brady! We love you!


I love this face!


The Polar Express sets in all their glory!


The kids manage to sit still long enough at the zoo for one group picture.


Our edible Lightning McQueen.


Brady always claps for himself when others clap for him. I think it's cute.


Brady shares his spiral speedway with Bryan, who had to keep reminding himself, "It's Baby's toy."


"Look, Mama! Look!" Brady is so proud of himself for lining up all of his Cars characters, much like I'm told his daddy did when he was little. (The band-aid is one of Bryan's Sponge Bob band-aids from his IV incident--Brady just wanted to wear one.)


"Wee!" McQueen races The King to the bottom of the speedway saying, "Speed? I am speed!"